Murong Xiaoxiao

Chapter 11: Murong Xiaoxiao

Leaving the Black Grand Hall, Shi Yue released his flying Magic Tool and flew towards the Scripture Repository.

This time, Shi Yue spent an hour in the Scripture Repository before leaving. Besides copying a few Jade Slips containing insights on Alchemy, he also copied the methods for making Pills for Qi Refining Stage cultivators.

After leaving the Scripture Repository, Shi Yue returned to his own residence. After watering the Spirit Rice in his Spirit Field, he then departed.

As soon as Shi Yue returned to Green Cloud Peak, he was surprised to find a young woman, who looked to be in her early twenties, pacing anxiously in front of Uncle-Master Zhou's courtyard.

The young woman wore a blue palace dress, had fair skin, and a graceful figure. When she turned around and her exquisite face appeared in Shi Yue's sight, he was momentarily stunned.

She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in the Great Void Sect.

What surprised Shi Yue even more was that the young woman was actually a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

"Esteemed Aunt-Master, are you looking for Uncle-Master Zhou?" Shi Yue hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and asking cautiously.

"You are..." The young woman scrutinized Shi Yue carefully and said with some hesitation.

"Disciple Shi Yue. Uncle-Master Zhou is out on business, and I am temporarily helping him manage his Cave Mansion," Shi Yue replied respectfully.

"Do you know when Senior Brother Zhou will return?" The young woman nodded and asked.

"Disciple does not know. Uncle-Master Zhou did not say when he would return," Shi Yue replied, shaking his head.

Hearing this, the young woman's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly. After a moment of thought, she spoke, "If Senior Brother Zhou returns, tell him that Murong Xiaoxiao from Tianquan Peak has something important to discuss with him. He can come find me, or send someone to inform me. Do you understand?"

"Disciple understands," Shi Yue readily agreed.

Upon hearing this, the young woman nodded. With a flick of her sleeve, a lifelike White Lotus flew out from her sleeve. The White Lotus grew larger in the wind and hovered about a foot off the ground.

The young woman leaped onto the White Lotus, formed a Hand Seal with one hand, and the White Lotus immediately shone brightly, transforming into a white light that shot towards the horizon, disappearing without a trace after a few flashes.

After watching Murong Xiaoxiao leave, Shi Yue used his token to open the Restriction and entered the courtyard.

He first checked the growth of the Water Moon Flowers, and after confirming there were no abnormalities, he returned to the Basement with peace of mind.

He first entered the Mysterious Space to check on the growth of the Blazing Sun Grass and Condensing Smoke Grass. Both the Blazing Sun Grass and Condensing Smoke Grass had grown taller. The leaves of the Blazing Sun Grass were red, while the Condensing Smoke Grass was white.

Shi Yue formed a Hand Seal with both hands, and a white cloud mass the size of a fist appeared above his head. The cloud mass rapidly expanded, stopping after reaching a size of dozens of feet.

"Go." Shi Yue pointed his hand towards the sky above the Spirit Field, and the white cloud mass quickly flew towards it.

Upon reaching the sky above the Spirit Field, raindrops began to fall incessantly.

After being washed by the rain, the Blazing Sun Grass appeared even more vibrant red.

After watering the Blazing Sun Grass, Shi Yue watered the Condensing Smoke Grass as well.

"Huh? What is this?" Shi Yue was surprised to find yellow spots on the leaves of several Condensing Smoke Grass plants.

"Could they be sick!" Shi Yue was startled and looked somewhat nervous.

Condensing Smoke Grass was a water-element Spirit Grass. The whiter the leaves, the better the quality. Yellow spots on the leaves likely indicated illness.

Shi Yue crouched down to carefully examine the Condensing Smoke Grass plants with yellow spots on their leaves. He was surprised to find some unknown small insects inside the leaves of the Condensing Smoke Grass, and there were quite a few of them. The yellow spots were caused by these insects gnawing on the leaves.

These insects were transparent and very small, making them impossible to spot without careful observation.

What shocked Shi Yue was that each plant of Condensing Smoke Grass had at least a dozen transparent insects, some with dozens, and their leaves were already rotting. What made Shi Yue even more indignant was that he discovered these insects on the leaves of the Blazing Sun Grass as well, though they were harder to spot on the red leaves due to their transparency.

Shi Yue walked around the two acres of Spirit Field, and the further he went, the more shocked he became. All the Spirit Grass and Spirit Herbs, numbering over a thousand plants across the two acres, were infested with these transparent insects.

These transparent insects burrowed into the Spirit Herbs to reproduce, slowly consuming them from the inside.

Burning them with fire? Not feasible. If he used fire, the Spirit Herbs would likely be ruined. Soaking them in water? That also seemed unworkable, as excessive water absorption would affect the growth of the Spirit Herbs and could even lead to their death.

Shi Yue pondered, but couldn't think of a good solution.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him. There were many cultivation classics on the Wood Shelf in the Stone Room, and perhaps they contained a solution.

With this thought, Shi Yue exited the Mysterious Space and quickly walked to the Wood Shelf, rapidly flipping through the Classics.

An hour later, Shi Yue's eyes lit up. He stared intently at a page in a silver scroll. On it was a picture that depicted the exact transparent insects found in the Condensing Smoke Grass. Below the picture was a passage:

"Scale Insects, feed on the leaves, branches, and fruits of Spirit Herbs and Spirit Fruit Trees. Once the larvae hatch, they remain on the branches, leaves, or fruits for life, causing leaves to yellow, branches to wither, and the tree's vitality to decline. The Geng Gold Art can be used to kill these insects."

"Geng Gold Art?" Shi Yue frowned upon reading this.

Shi Yue had been busy harvesting Spirit Herbs and cultivating the Great Void Art, leaving him no extra time to learn other incantations. Besides Spring Rain Art and Fire Flame Art, he knew no other incantations.

Learning a new incantation now felt somewhat strenuous.

Despite the difficulty, the Geng Gold Art had to be learned. The lives of the Spirit Herbs in the two acres were at stake, and Shi Yue dared not be careless.

He found a Jade Slip titled "Summoning the Five Elements Arts" on the Wood Shelf, placed it against his brow, located the content detailing the Geng Gold Art, and read it word by word, not daring to miss a single detail.

After about fifteen minutes, Shi Yue had memorized the entire content of the Geng Gold Art. He put down the Jade Slip and began to attempt to cast the Geng Gold Art.

The Geng Gold Art was a metal-element incantation. Metal was associated with killing and was the most powerful among the Five Elements Arts.

The first step in cultivating the Geng Gold Art was to condense the Geng Gold Qi Mang.

Shi Yue formed Hand Seals with both hands, his fingers constantly changing gestures, but there was no reaction.

He felt anxious, wanting to condense the Geng Gold Qi Mang quickly. However, the more anxious he became, the more mistakes he made. The Geng Gold Qi Mang refused to appear, as if it didn't exist.

Seeing this, Shi Yue took a few deep breaths, forced himself to calm down, and began to rapidly form Hand Seals with his fingers.

Shi Yue's ten fingers continuously changed hand seals, yet his hands remained unchanged. He didn't give up, gritted his teeth, and continued to persevere.

A day and a night passed, and Shi Yue was still practicing, attempting to condense Geng Gold Qi Mang.

The prolonged practice left his face looking somewhat haggard, his eyes bloodshot, as if he had suffered a severe illness.

If he couldn't resolve the Scale Insects in the Spirit Fields, the two mu of Spirit Herbs might yield nothing. This was not what Shi Yue wanted to see. It concerned his cultivation path, so he had to take it seriously.

After failing over a thousand times, a golden light flashed on Shi Yue's fingers, as if he were wearing a golden thimble. A wisp of faint golden Qi Mang appeared at his fingertips, dancing between his ten fingers.

The faint golden Qi Mang was the Geng Gold Qi Mang mentioned in the Geng Gold Art!

Seeing this, a hint of joy appeared on Shi Yue's weary face. He had practiced the Geng Gold Art day and night, failing over a thousand times until he had become numb. The sudden appearance of the Geng Gold Qi Mang reignited his hope.

Shi Yue immediately entered the Mysterious Space and approached a Condensing Smoke Grass. He attached his Spiritual Sense to the Geng Gold Qi Mang and flicked his finger. A wisp of Geng Gold Qi Mang shot out, entering the Condensing Smoke Grass.

Through the Spiritual Sense attached to the Geng Gold Qi Mang, Shi Yue could see the situation inside the Condensing Smoke Grass clearly.

Within a lush green space, a group of plump, transparent insects were constantly gnawing on the surrounding green flesh.

Seeing this, Shi Yue flew into a rage. He controlled the Geng Gold Qi Mang, transforming it into a Golden Flying Sword, and slashed at a transparent insect.

With a faint "puff," the transparent insect was sliced in two. Its plump body fell to the ground, oozing a pool of green liquid.

At this moment, the other Scale Insects discovered the invading Geng Gold Qi Mang. They opened their mouths and each spat out a thin, long white silk.

Caught off guard, the Geng Gold Qi Mang, to which Shi Yue's Spiritual Sense was attached, was entangled. No matter how he urged it, the Geng Gold Qi Mang couldn't break free from the restraint.

Soon, strands of white silk tightly bound the Geng Gold Qi Mang. The white silk pulled the Geng Gold Qi Mang towards the mouth of the largest Scale Insect.

Seeing this, Shi Yue's heart leaped, and he quickly withdrew his Spiritual Sense.

Shi Yue let out a soft hum, flicked his finger, and two wisps of faint golden Geng Gold Qi Mang shot out, entering the Condensing Smoke Grass.

This time, Shi Yue had learned his lesson. He controlled the two wisps of Geng Gold Qi Mang to attack the Scale Insects from both left and right.

The Scale Insects continuously spat out white silk, attempting to entangle the two wisps of Geng Gold Qi Mang. Having suffered before, Shi Yue dared not let the white silk hit the Geng Gold Qi Mang again. He controlled the Geng Gold Qi Mang to constantly change direction.

With Shi Yue's efforts, the Scale Insects inside this Condensing Smoke Grass were soon all killed.

It was strange, though. The Geng Gold Qi Mang, which was highly lethal to Scale Insects, was gentle and harmless to the Spirit Herbs.

Soon, the Scale Insects in the second Condensing Smoke Grass were also completely killed by the Geng Gold Qi Mang, followed by the third, the fourth...

After the Scale Insects inside the tenth Condensing Smoke Grass were killed, Shi Yue withdrew his Spiritual Sense, drenched in sweat, as if he had just completed some strenuous exercise. His back was soaked with sweat.

His Magical Power consumption was not significant, but his Spiritual Sense was almost depleted.

Shi Yue's head buzzed, and he felt dizzy.

"No wonder there are so few Spirit Planters. It turns out killing insects consumes so much Spiritual Sense," Shi Yue muttered to himself.

After a short rest, Shi Yue continued to practice the Geng Gold Art, condensing two more wisps of Geng Gold Qi Mang, which drilled into the Condensing Smoke Grass to kill the Scale Insects.

Shi Yue unleashed all the energy he had spent a day and a night condensing the Geng Gold Qi Mang onto the Scale Insects. He killed every Scale Insect he saw without mercy.

He stayed in the Mysterious Space for three days.

It took him three days and three nights to eliminate all the Scale Insects within the Spirit Herbs.

The continuous killing of insects had severely depleted his Spiritual Sense, leaving his head feeling dizzy.

As soon as Shi Yue stopped, an unbearable wave of sleepiness washed over him. He forced himself to resist the drowsiness, walked into the Stone House, lay down on the Stone Bed, and fell into a deep sleep.

Shi Yue had a beautiful dream. He dreamt of a bountiful harvest from the two mu of Spirit Herbs in the Mysterious Space, selling them for a large sum of Spirit Stones